Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have a specific question? Please email us at: enquiries at ncin dot org.uk link enquiries@ncin.org.uk

Why do the data I am looking at sometimes differ from other published data for the same time period?

Cancer registrations are usually completed within two years of diagnosis but, in a small proportion of cases, the process can take longer. Consequently the cancer registration databases held by the Cancer Registries in the UK, and by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), are continually being updated.

Cancer Research UK has used an extract of data from ONS as the source of the data for England to collate the UK figures.

In contrast, the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) has obtained data for England from the National Cancer Information Service, which has data extracted directly from the eight regional Cancer Registries around England. The two extracts from these sources have been taken at different times and, thus, there will be minor differences between them. As registration databases are regularly updated and revised, any resulting presentation of data may differ slightly from other published data relating to the same time period. Such differences are nearly always trivial.